


The Surrealistic World

by TranscendingFiction



Series: The Art of Madness [1]
Category: CLAMP - Works, Ib (Video Game), Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, X -エックス- | X/1999
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Horror, Crossover, Gen, Harm to Children, M/M, Mild Blood, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-01-20 08:45:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1504133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TranscendingFiction/pseuds/TranscendingFiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kamui was only a 9 year old boy, and yet somehow he ended up in a fabricated world of sorts, fearing for his life and wandering through the unknown. Will he and Fuuma make it out of this strange world alive? Or perhaps will they be stuck there forever?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Begginings

**Author's Note:**

> Ended up switching to another account, so thankfully you guys don't have to worry about not getting notified if you subscribed!!

“Kamui, are you ready? And do you have the handkerchief I got you for your birthday?” Tohru asked her nine-year old son. They were going to go to an art gallery today, Kamui seemed to enjoy art and the gallery was doing a special exhibit.

Little nine-year old Kamui nodded, looking up to his mother with a smile. “Yeah! In my pocket.” He reached down into the pocket of his red shorts, pulling out the red cloth and holding it up to his mother. “See? Right here.”

Tohru smiled back at her son. “Okay, let’s go then. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the gallery. All of the art in the exhibit is by a man named Fei Wang Reed, and he’s done many different things.” Tohru took her son by his hand and led him to the gallery.

“Oooh,” Kamui looked around in awe at all the art, his eyes wide as he scanned the gallery in wonderment. He’d never seen so many paintings in one room before. 

“Do you like it so far then, Kamui? There’s more rooms, and all of these pieces have names as well.”

Excitement flashed in his eyes at the prospect of more rooms to explore. “Can I look around Mother? Please?” He begged, clutching his mother’s sleeve.

Tohru looked down, a slightly worried look on her face. “On your own?...I, I guess you can. I trust you Kamui, just don’t go too far and don’t bother anyone, okay?”

Kamui smiled triumphantly, “Okay!” Quickly he turned around and ran into the next room, mindful of not bumping into anyone.

The first thing Kamui noticed when he entered the giant white space was the roped off painting covering the floor. It was dark, like a void, and a giant fish with black-holes for eyes and razor sharp teeth swam in the murky depths depicted in it. He slowed down his pace, his feet reluctantly bringing him to the painting in some sort of frightened trance; to him it was mesmerizing and horrifying. “Wow,” he murmured softly in wonderment, strolling around until he stood before a wooden pedestal. Cocking his head slightly, he tried to read the words on the white plague, “A-A...Ab…” He stuttered, struggling to read the word. “...Of the D-Deep...A world where one man will never stand...To...To…” He started to stutter, unable to pronounce some of the words, confusing him.

“Need some help? I can read it for you if you want!”

The sound of a male’s kind voice prompted him to look up towards his right. A boy who looked to be in his mid-teens stood next to him, smiling, spiky black hair protruding from his head and a sleek, white jacket with gold trim and an upturned collar clinging to his slender body. Kamui blinked, debating on whether or not he should heed his mother’s warning about not talking to strangers or bothering anyone while he was there, but decided to nod yes, a wide smile on his lips.

The teenager smiled back. “Okay, my name’s Fuuma by the way. The title of this one is ‘Abyss of the Deep’. The plaque says ‘A world where man will never stand...to realize that world, I decided that I would engrave it on a canvas’.”

Kamui’s eyes widened, it sounded so cool! But some of the words he didn’t quite understand, not having learned them yet. “What does ‘a-abyss’ mean mister? A-and ‘en-en...engrave’? And ‘re-realize’ too?” The young raven-haired male hoped he wasn’t bothering the kind man, but he really was quite curious.

Fuuma laughed a little. “An abyss is a very very deep place, and it can seem to have no end. Engrave means to carve something, usually words onto something else, and realize is coming to a complete understanding of something. Does that make sense?”

Kamui nodded, grinning, “Yeah! Thanks mister!” His curiosity now shifting to the thought of exploring the rest of the gallery once more, he started to turn around, planning to walk away. But he stopped, an idea popping into his mind; he hoped--Fuuma, was it?--wouldn’t mind him asking this. He didn’t want to be a bother. Pivoting on his right foot, he faced the kind man once again and inquired in an excited and inviting tone, “Why don’t you come explore with me mister?”

Fuuma’s eyes widened a bit. “Sure, will your parents be okay with that? Also, what do I call you? You never gave me a name, and please don’t call me mister, it sounds like my dad.” He laughed a little, scratching the back of his head. His dad was cool, but he was only fifteen.  
“Okay, I’ll call you...Fuuma-san then!” His eyes lit up, “Also I’m Kamui! Now follow me!” Kamui grabbed onto the older male’s sleeve, tugging him along.

Fuuma got a slightly bewildered look. “Uh....you can just call me Fuuma, there’s no need for formalities, do you want to be called Kamui-kun? Kamui-san? And where are we going exactly?”

“No just Kamui!” His pace didn’t falter, leading the man back to the previous room where he spotted his mother admiring a brightly colored painting. “And I’m taking you to my mother Fuuma-san!”

Fuuma let himself be dragged along by Kamui, who he was sure was not any older than ten. “Again, you don’t need to add the san.....But um, okay. Why exactly?”

Kamui giggled, as if Fuuma asked him something weird. “To ask if you can explore with me of course!”

Fuuma blinked. This kid was actually pretty wise for his age. “...Oh. Okay, sure, that makes sense.”

The nine-year old giggled again, “Yeah!” Finally, after passing a strange-looking painting that Kamui couldn’t even begin to describe, he came to a stop by his mom. “Hey Mother,” He grabbed ahold of the grey sleeve of her sweater-dress. “I have a question.”

Tohru looked down at her son upon feeling the tug and saw another boy with him. “Kamui? What is it, and who is this? You didn’t bother him, did you?”

Fuuma stepped forward slightly. “Hello Kamui’s mom, my name is Fuuma Monou and your son hasn’t been bothering me. He was trying to read one of the plaques on a work, and he seemed to be struggling, so I went over and offered to read it for him.”

“Yeah! So can he explore with me Mother? Please? I’ll be good and won’t bother anyone else. So please?” Kamui’s eyes widened, his expression morphing into what his mother usually calls ‘the puppy-dog look’.

Tohru was going to say yes anyways, Kamui was a good kid, but with the puppy look, she couldn’t even tease him beforehand and sighed. “Go ahead. Fuuma-kun, if Kamui bothers you, feel free to tell him or me.”

Kamui seemed to jump slightly in excitement, hugging his mother before turning around and grabbing onto Fuuma’s sleeve once more. “Thank you Mother!” He started to drag the raven-haired teen away.

Fuuma laughed as Kamui pulled him along. “No problem Kamui’s mom, he won’t be a bother! And you can just call me Fuuma if you want, I don’t really like people using honorifics on me!”

And so their exploration began, going through each room with a sense of wonderment, Kamui usually asking Fuuma to read him the plaques and titles of the creations. Some of the art was strange, confusing and/or mesmerizing them with their alien shapes and odd combinations of sometimes even stranger objects than the art itself! They passed a sculpture of a red rose called ‘Embodiment of the Spirit’—Fuuma had to explain to Kamui what embodiment meant—that looked almost real, a painting of a man being hung upside down, which Kamui laughed at though Fuuma more or less studied it more quietly, and a few sculptures of black mannequins wearing an assortment of different colored dresses. But alas they couldn’t explore forever, and as the number of gallery goers started to dwindle, Fuuma figured that their time of exploring was over. After all, it was almost closing time!

“Hey Kamui, it’s almost closing time. You should probably go find your mom, and I need to be heading home myself. I doubt my parents thought I’d actually stay this long at an art gallery...”

Kamui’s excited expression faltered; but he was having so much fun! But alas he knew Fuuma was right, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try and stall just for a few minutes. “Aww, but there’s still more rooms to explore!”

Fuuma sighed slightly, he knew that, and honestly it was fun going around with Kamui. But the fact remained; they both had to go home soon. “I know Kamui, but I think the gallery’s still sticking around for another day or two. We could try to meet up again then? I don’t want your mom worrying, or my parents to worry either.”

The kid frowned but nodded; he really wanted to stay and explore more with Fuuma but he knew he couldn’t stall any longer. “Okay,” was his sighed reply.

At that, Fuuma frowned and sighed as well, he felt bad, but what was he supposed to do? He was fifteen, he couldn’t change closing time. “Want me to help you find your mom Kamui? I don’t mind....”

His smile returned, but this time it was more prideful, confident. “No, I can do it myself! Thank you Fuuma-san for exploring with me!” And with that, he turned around and started running, now anxious to find his mother in order to ask if they could come back to the gallery some other time.

Fuuma gave a soft smile as he watched Kamui run off before starting towards the entrance of the gallery to go home. He was seriously curious about what his parents would think....they trusted him, but he just about never showed an interest in art or anything, this exhibit just seemed to pull him towards it though....and he was honestly glad it did.


	2. The Fabricated World

Kamui was lost. Somehow, instead of ending up at the lobby where his mother would’ve been waiting for him, he ended up on the second floor, and in a room where only one long, giant painting adorned the white wall. It was weird, as if the painting had been...calling him. And now there he was, staring at it with wide eyes and wonderment. The picture depicted seemingly random images or other artworks founded in the gallery, and dark twisty paths that seemed to go nowhere. Red paint was splattered throughout the piece and looking at it made him feel uneasy, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the captivating image. Slowly his eyes wandered down to look at the title beneath it, but yet again he found that he couldn’t read nor understand one of the words, “F-Fabri...Fab…” He squinted, trailing off before deciding to move onto the next word. “W-World...What does that mean…?” Suddenly, the light in the room blinked, startling Kamui out of his daze. “H-huh? M-Mother?” He looked around, but no one was there. The atmosphere around him started to become oppressive; he didn’t like this one bit. 

He left the room hurriedly, wanting to get out of that stifling atmosphere, but still the air around him felt heavy, and, as he walked around, he noticed that everyone was missing… “M-Mother?” He called out, his voice echoing in the vast emptiness of the gallery. No one replied.

Finally, after a few minutes of panicked wandering, he came upon a room he recognized. This was the room with the picture of the hanging man, wasn’t it? Yes, it was! Quickly he passed the familiar painting, barely noticing a window out of the corner of his eyes. Hey wait, wasn’t that window clear earlier…? Why was it foggy?? Kamui turned and looked towards the window, wondering why it was so foggy outside.

Slowly he walked towards the glass, laying a hand on the surface. It was...cold. He shook off his daze; no he can’t get distracted! He had to find his mother. Quickly he turned around and walked down the stairs, entering the lobby. But even that was empty; his heart sank. No, no no. Where was his mother?

Suddenly the sounds of footsteps reached his ears, causing him to turn around in panic, almost falling backwards on the ground below. Still no human to be found...This was all too weird and creepy.

Kamui stood up, this time feeling anxious and scared. He really didn’t like this. His gaze wandered towards the two windows near the desk; maybe he could see if his mother went outside? Slowly, cautiously, he approached the right window, but when he got too close a red liquid oozed down from the surface. He stumbled backwards again; what was that? Paint? He had to get out of here; he couldn’t stand being in this gallery any longer!

And so he ran, entering room after empty room, unable to find anyone. No exits would open; same with the windows. He felt like someone was chasing him, but at the same time he knew that no one was around. At some point he found himself back in the room, where the strange painting had been, but this time there was blue paint leaking from the golden frame. He investigated it, but as he did so red letters suddenly appeared on the ground behind him. “W-what?” Kamui cocked his head slightly, reading the words slowly. “‘Come...Kamui….’? Come where?” He looked up as the blue paint near the gold frame changed, morphing into words that read ‘come down below kamui’ and, under it, ‘i’ll show you someplace secret’. He didn’t understand what was going on, but he really didn’t like the blue words telling him what to do; he didn’t trust them one bit. And yet the prospect of being able to explore someplace secret was exciting, despite his current circumstances. “But...Below where?” There was no reply from the letters, causing him to sigh. He’d just have to explore and find out.

It took him a few nerve-wracking minutes before he came upon blue footprints. He was in the room with the fish painting on the ground. The painting still terrified him, but he found himself walking towards it anyways, his mind foggy. One section of the ropes was missing and blue footprints led into the painting. Quietly he followed those footsteps, and, as he stepped onto the painting, he could feel himself falling...falling...And then everything went blank.

\---

Fuuma could tell something had changed by the time he’d reached the lobby of the gallery...the lights had already flickered, which he had been sure was a five minute warning until closing or something, but there was no announcement, and it had only been two minutes, yet everywhere he’d walked since was devoid of people...

Seeing as the lights were off, he was pretty sure the doors would be locked....but he had to try, and upon realizing they were, he also tried the windows, but no luck. Fuuma sighed and grabbed his cell phone, glad he had recently gotten one, he could call his parents. But his phone seemed to not be working, he knew it was working earlier, he had texted his mom at about five, and he hadn’t turned it off, it had near full battery, so what was the issue? He leaned against the wall and tried to figure out what to do- his phone wasn’t working, and he was locked inside an art gallery. He guessed the best he could do was go look and see if anyone else got stuck and maybe come back and sit by the doors so if someone came, either during the night or in the morning—God, he hoped it wouldn’t take that long—he’d be visible and maybe get out sooner.

Fuuma had been walking through the gallery, occasionally calling out to see if anyone was there, but hadn’t received a response yet, and he had even wandered into rooms he and Kamui hadn’t gotten too, but it was a little dark to see the art very clearly...Kamui. Had he even gotten out? Or did he get stuck here too? If he had, then his mother had to be here as well, she wouldn’t leave Kamui behind. Actually, thinking about Kamui now made his mind wander as he continued walking. He felt like he needed to be really concerned for Kamui for some reason....it felt like he was in danger. But....was the gallery dangerous? It seemed dark and creepy right now Fuuma supposed, but he wouldn’t call it exactly dangerous.....not yet anyways. And if Kamui had gotten out, then what was he supposed to do? He was stuck here.

When Fuuma actually came back to thinking of where he was going, he realized he ended up right back where he had met Kamui, at the Abyss of the Deep painting....but it was different now. First of all, part of the rope was missing, but it seemed darker, and the fish seemed to almost be moving. Why did it feel like this was where Kamui would end up? What was wrong with that? They would meet again, it was just a painting, wasn’t it?....Wasn’t it?

Fuuma’s eyes widened upon that realization. It wasn’t, there was something going on here, the gallery was dangerous, and it was after Kamui it seemed. He couldn’t let that happen. Kamui was a little kid, and was probably all his mom had. Fuuma was older and stronger....maybe he could offer himself in Kamui’s place. He could feel the painting’s pull upon making his resolution and took a deep breath before walking past the ropes and into the painting. It really was like an abyss, pulling him down into darkness.

\---

Fuuma blinked and he could feel a slight headache as his vision came into focus. He slowly sat up and looked around; it looked like he was back in the gallery....but not. It was like when the lights went out, but darker, it had a creepy feeling and a shiver went up Fuuma’s spine. He needed to figure where exactly he was, and how to get out, like now.

He had been walking for a short while, but saw a vase with a scarlet rose in it, it looked as bright as the sculpture...what was it again? Was it a sculpture? Had it even been a rose? Fuuma couldn’t remember.....odd. Whatever, he decided to pick it up anyways, it looked lonely, he felt a little lonely, and once he had picked it up, he did feel a little better. He guessed he should just continue wandering? Maybe try to find a map....but he could feel something or someone watching him. It was really unsettling, but he had to remain calm. He would walk and see what happened, if he needed to, he could sprint; he was on his school’s track team.

The feeling didn’t go away, and whenever he would turn, there was nothing there....part of Fuuma was starting to think he was just paranoid now...but just in case, he chose to quicken his pace, gradually until it was a full sprint and he was opening doors at random, it felt like someone was full on chasing him now. He opened another door, it was a hallway, no problem, he didn’t have to maneuver around furniture, just dead run. Halfway down, it felt like something was grabbing his leg, he could feel himself falling to ground, all he could see were vague dark shapes, and once his head hit the ground, nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ‘i’ll show you someplace secret’ - this line is meant to be in all lowercase due to how it was spelled in the original game. Would have left the apostrophe out too like in the game, but it would have read "ill" instead of "i'll".


	3. THIEF

When Kamui came to, the first thing he noticed was that the room was very, very blue. He lay on a staircase, feeling very confused and dizzy. He stood up slowly, tentatively. Where was he exactly? He didn’t remember the art gallery looking like this!

Once the dizziness subsided he took a few cautious steps forward, entering into a hallway. Once he was in the middle of it however, he turned around, something was off. Wasn’t there a staircase there a minute ago?! He took a few steps back until he was up against the wall. Suddenly he noticed two paintings; they were similar. Both of them depicted floating land and a void but the left was red, almost like lava, and on the right it was blue, almost like an endless ocean. He shivered; wherever he was, it wasn’t the gallery that was for sure. Now which way should he go?

After debating with himself for a few minutes, he decided to go left first. At the end of the hall there was a black and white fish painting hung on the wall, its frame silver. “The…” He blinked, trying to read the next word but unable to do so. “The…???...Fish…” He shrugged his shoulders, deciding to move on. And that’s when he noticed it; a sky-blue door! He tugged on its handle, but it wouldn’t budge...Must’ve been locked…

He sighed, turning around and hurrying to the other side of the hallway, but as he did so more blue words started to appear...No, not multiple words, but one. “Come” the words read, over and over again. Kamui shivered, but followed them. These words, they kept calling him...why? With hesitant steps, he followed the path of the letters until he came upon a vase with a purple rose sticking out of it. “Huh…?” He felt strange, looking at the rose; he couldn’t quite put his finger on it but it was as if that rose was...calling him almost. Like he was somehow...connected to it. Was that even possible? But, as he stared at the flower he could feel himself being pulled towards it and it wasn’t long before he was pulled out of his daze and he was holding the rose, despite not remembering grasping onto its prickly stem. And somehow, as he stared at the plant that was in his small hands, he started to feel like the rose...completed him. The thing in his hand was so fragile, and yet he felt the need to protect it… Carefully he placed the rose into the safety of his pocket, suddenly noticing the blue door behind the table the vase was sitting on. Quickly he pushed it aside, surprised that it was so light for a wooden table. After that he tugged on the door handle, opening the door to reveal a room with a blue key laying in the middle of it and a picture of a smiling woman’s head, blue hair leaking over the frame. Her eyes were closed, but the room made him uneasy. Why was there a key, just laying there in the middle of the room? Despite his uneasiness, though, he leaned down and took the key anyways, grasping it tightly. As he stood up he noticed the picture had changed, the woman’s eyes and mouth were now open. He gasped, stepping back slightly, and turning around, not bothering to read the caption that was under the frame. But once he stepped outside the room, the once blue and—did he dare say it?—friendly looking letters were now red and, instead of reading the word “come” over and over, it read “thief”.

His eyes widened at the sudden change; he had to get out of here! But as he ran down the hall, he was startled by the word “thief” once more as it plastered itself against the ground, making him fall backwards. Was this place angry at him? Why? Didn’t it want him to take the key? Standing up he walked quickly across the words, anxious to get to the other side.

Once he approached the door, he slowed down his pace until he came to a complete halt and unlocked the door with the key, slowly pushing it open. He was met with a narrow green room, a pedestal right in the middle of it. When he approached it and leaned down, though he could barely make out the words, read out loud, “Beware the edges,” he blinked. What did that even mean?  
Sighing, he started to walk along the hall but as he did so, a sudden black, shadowy hand shot out, hitting him and causing him to hiss in pain. “Oww!”

He glared at the hand, angry that it hurt him. The memory of what the plaque had read popped up in his mind; maybe he should stay in the middle of the hallway? Deciding that it was better to be safe than sorry, he did just that. Finally he came to the end of the hall and where he happened upon another door. He entered the door, this time the room being mostly yellow. He blinked; was this huge place really a part of the gallery? He walked more into the hall, seeing it went to both sides and straight through. The painting on his left though, it seemed to be a face and....it looked like its tongue was moving, but it actually looked a little silly in comparison to everything else, so Kamui walked up to it, actually giving a small smile, but he quickly frowned again when it spit on him, oddly stinging a bit. Kamui quickly backed up and looked on the other side of the hall. The first thing he saw was yellow text, once again painted on the wall and he approached it warily. “Beware....of lips? That’s odd.....”

Kamui continued walking down the hall though, and did see what looked like a pair of lips and chose to avoid them, at least for now....the painted texts hadn’t exactly been proven to lie yet.....so that left going up the other hall....he didn’t know if he could trust the sides of the walls and therefore chose to walk down the middle lest one hit him again. At the other end of the hallway, there was another split, the left looking shorter and more normal, the right....Kamui’s eyes widened. He really hoped those were dolls hanging....but he really didn’t want to find out. Left again it was.

All that was on the left was a single door with more yellow paint on the side of it reading ‘The Liars’ Room’. That was an interesting name....but what choice did he have? It was either that or the...hanging dolls. Kamui sighed and walked in and saw six portraits, three on each side of another door, each of a person wearing a different color and with more text underneath. Kamui approached the first one; a man wearing green, his text read ‘Stand in front of the statue, go west 3 steps, then south one step. That’s the answer!’ The next was a woman in brown saying ‘Stand in front of the statue, go east 4 steps, then north 2 steps. That’s the answer!’ Following the woman was another man, this time in yellow claiming ‘The one in white speaks the truth!’ On the other side of the door, the blue man said ‘The only truth-speaker wears green!’ The woman in white next to him though said ‘Stand in front of the statue, go east 2 steps, then south two steps. That’s the answer!’ The last painting was of another woman, this time in red, saying ‘I agree with the one in yellow!’

Kamui thought for a minute, so clearly the next room had a statue and something he had to get...and this was The Liars’ Room, so five of them had to be lying, right? The yellow man had said white spoke truth, so that was a lie, so white and yellow were wrong. The blue man was also lying since he said the truth was the green man, who now also had to be lying. And the woman in red agreed with yellow and was also lying. Right? So....that left the brown lady. Kamui bit his lip and reread the brown woman’s to make sure he’d follow it correctly before stepping into the next room.

All there was was a weird guy’s statue and the tiled floor....what was he supposed to find? Kamui went up to the statue and followed what the brown lady said, four east, two north....nothing. So....maybe he had to pull the tile up?

“Oh. It’s loose....Four?” Upon pulling the tile up and flipping it over, Kamui had found a purple four. He heard a series of noises that sounded like glass breaking and tearing and startled, he fell backwards. That sounded like it came from just the previous room....what happened?? Kamui carefully got up and hesitantly left the room, and upon looking at the paintings again, saw that all of them now had red paint on them, but the brown woman’s seemed to be covered in it. Kamui shuddered a little, it looked a bit too much like blood....He quickly scanned the texts of the other paintings though, seeing as they all looked shorter, and in fact, they all said ‘Liar!’ now, and Kamui quickly left the room, not wanting to linger around the paintings any longer.

Kamui guessed he would have to go to the other side now....he had a number he didn’t know what to do with, and there was probably something on the other end of the hall. He cautiously started walking down the hall, staring a little wide-eyed at some of the dolls. When he walked by another though, it fell, and Kamui gave a slight yelp. That had surprised him, and without it hanging, it looked more like a doll but also more like a person.... Kamui carefully walked over to it, just to check if they were actually dolls, and saw that at least this one was, and that it had a green eighteen on it. That was a second number now, maybe they were part of a code? Kamui finished walking down the hall to another door and tried to open it, but it was locked, and upon paying more attention and look more closely, Kamui saw that it did need a code of sort....he needed a red number now? He bit his lip again. Maybe....maybe the lips or the white painting somehow? Kamui went back down the hall and went over to the white picture, making sure to stay as far from the spitting face picture as possible and saw that there actually was a small, tiny, red nine on it. Okay, so he had a four, an eighteen, and a four. He went back to the locked door, still a little creeped out by the dolls. So the code wanted him to do 9 x 18 + 4 since the colors matched up that way....9 x 18....well 9 x 9 was 81….multiple that by 2…162? That plus 4....166. Was that the code? Kamui entered it and heard the door unlock. He reached out and opened it, the door swinging inwards to reveal a very small room packed full of trees, all of them about his height. The tree in the very center had an apple perched at the tippy-top. He blinked; why was there a room packed full of trees? Moreover; were these trees even real, or just sculptures? Well, at least it wasn’t scary, unlike the other rooms of this godforsaken place.

But still, he was cautious as he approached the central tree; this one was taller than the rest, since, despite leaning upwards until he was standing on his toes, the top of his head was barely level with the bushy top of the vegetation. He stretched his arms outwards, trying to grab the apple, but found he still wasn’t tall enough. The young, raven-haired boy leaned forwards a bit more, so that he was only standing on the end of his right foot, his other raised high in the air. He felt himself losing his balance, but as he fell face-first, he managed to grab the apple, which felt much different than anticipated; almost...wooden. “Oof,” his tiny body hit the ground, knocking the wind out of him slightly. Slowly he sat up, groaning, but a triumphant grin was on his face; he did it! With a new burst of energy, he stood up and exited the room, racing past the hanging, creepy dolls and the black hands that reached out to him from the wall like tendrils.

Once he reached the split in the hall, he took the right and slowly approached the lips, but when he did so, this time they spoke, “Hungry...Give food…” It seemed to pause in its slow, agonizing drawl. “That food...Give to me…”

Kamui blinked; what food? Oh...The wooden apple? It wasn’t even real! Though it did look like it was… “Um...okay, here.” He put the apple in the lips’ open mouth, pulling back quickly as it took a huge bite and ate the apple whole.

“That tasty...I let you pass now...Go through my mouth…”  
Kamui’s eyes widened; through its mouth?! How did he know it wouldn’t just eat him like it did the apple?! But, as the mouth opened up, wide enough for him to step through, he knew he had to trust it. What other option did he have? He couldn’t go back; there was nothing back there but more creepy rooms and a dead end. Sighing, he stepped through the mouth, but instead of ending up just a giant snack, he found himself in a hallway and staring straight at him was a picture of a guillotine, its blade already slicing the ground.

Kamui stared at it wide-eyed before starting to walk across the hallway. He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, the blade of the guillotine was starting to go up with each new picture, but he thought nothing of it. However, once he reached the end of the hall he heard something above him…

There was a blinding gleam and a hiss as Kamui jumped out of the way, the blade of the guillotine he had seen in the pictures slicing the ground behind him. He was...alive? How did he…? His breaths were coming in short gasps as he stared at the glistening, bloodthirsty blade, his left hand clutching at his neck. How did he not lose his head to that?  
It took him a few minutes before he calmed down and his breathing and heart rate slowed; despite all the creepy, messed up things he had seen so far he hadn’t actually thought the place had been trying to kill him! So why now? Why did it let him get this far? Was it just playing with him? What did it want from him anyhow? He was only nine! What could he possibly do to entertain this place besides run around without any sense of where he was supposed to go and almost getting himself killed with every turn he took? It was almost like this place was acting like a little kid, except...sadistic instead of just playful or even mischievous.

He shook away the thoughts from his mind; he needed to keep going. Maybe his mother was around here. Or maybe that teenager, Fuuma...He hoped both of them were okay…

Tentatively he stood up and grabbed his rose from off the ground. But wait...why did the rose look like it was missing petals? It was completely healthy a few minutes ago! Now it appeared to be almost dead...He better be careful with it; he had a feeling he didn’t want it to die. Gently he put the rose back in his pocket and turned away. He couldn’t stand being near that blade any longer.

Kamui exited the room and started walking down the stairs, but with every step he could feel a dull ache in his lower calves, and, despite having calmed down, could feel his chest tightening as he walked, his breathing coming out as a low whistle. He felt so tired, exhausted even, and his mind was hazy, but he knew he couldn’t stop walking; he had to keep going. Not unless he wanted to be stuck here forever.

Slowly the colors of the stairs morphed from white to red, and when he got the bottom, he found himself at an opening leading to a giant room red room. Two statues, one blue and one red, were roped off, almost guarding the entrance. They looked like they could be made from marble, but what kind of marble was colored like that? He started to walk around the red statue, studying it with interest and confusion. What was it supposed to be anyways? A person? It kind of looked like goo when he thought of it…

“Hey. You might want to come and sit down for a bit...you don’t look so good.” A smooth female voice called out.

Kamui was startled out of his daze as the voice reached his ears. Where was it coming from? “Hello…?”

“Over here. To your right. Honestly, sending a child here....”

He blinked looked over to his right, noticing a large painting with a long black-haired, red eyed woman. She wore a red kimono, the sleeves slipping over her pale, slender shoulders. The collar was low, revealing her collarbone and the tip of the black lace of her bra. A large butterfly earring hung from her right ear, purple in the middle and the tips of the wings blending into pink, then red. Her hair spilled over the frame, and she seemed to be frowning, though when she noticed him a smile seemed to replace the concerned look she had on a few seconds ago, as if it had been merely an illusion she had been frowning in the first place. He wasn’t sure if he could trust this painting, this woman, but he cautiously stepped forwards. If she wanted to hurt him, she wouldn’t have expressed concern for him earlier, right? “U-um...Hello. You won’t hurt me, right?”

The woman’s smile grew a little sad, but only just enough to be noticeable. “No I won’t hurt you. You look worn out though, come sit over here. How did you get here little one?”  
He nodded, coming closer until he was a mere few feet away, and sat down against the wall. It was a relief, to be able to sit and not worry about getting hurt or something creepy popping out. He was, after all, completely exhausted, and he ached all over. Not to mention the fact that this place was mentally exhausting as well… “Well...I was exploring the gallery with a man called Fuuma-san; he was really nice and would read the words I didn’t understand. He said it was time to leave, so I left to find Mother, but then the lights went dark and everything got all creepy. There were words on the walls telling me to ‘come here’ and told me that they would show me ‘someplace secret’. Then I found a painting and stepped on it and then I woke up here!” Despite being utterly exhausted, his voice came out evenly, albeit a little soft and breathy.

The woman frowned, though Kamui couldn’t see since he was thankfully sitting and not facing her. She swore....if she ever got a chance to, she’d wring the man’s neck. A nine-year-old, however terrified, should not be this out of breath. It was probably the rose..... “Did you happen to pick up a rose? And, Fuuma-san? What did he look like? I saw a teenager a while ago...” The sooner she knew if Kamui had his rose or not, the better. And if she could get him to Fuuma, then at least he’d have another human to help him. “Also, you never told me your name child,” she said, leaning to rest her head on her arms, even more of her hair slipping out of the frame.

“My name is Kamui…” He hesitated, thinking for a second, “Yeah, I found a rose when I first got here. It was really pretty…” Kamui trailed off, remembering the rose and how mesmerizing it had been. He could feel its subtle weight in his right front pocket of his overall shorts; he felt so closely tied to it, as if it were...a part of him, even. Or, at least, a part of his life was tied to this rose. Though he was being ridiculous though, right? His life, tied to a violet rose? One that was already dying? It wasn’t possible...right?

“Kamui. Focus. You can’t dwell on the rose. What did Fuuma-san look like?” She was concerned. If someone just thought about their rose for a while, they had a tendency of entirely forgetting why and where they were running. Then, that let him win, made him that much more real.

The child was startled out of his daze by the woman’s concerned tone. “W-well...He was really tall, and he looked strong...His hair was black and spiky...And his eyes were...I think brown? They were kinda like honey…He wore this white jacket too...I don’t remember his shirt...I think it was green?”

Yuuko nodded. That was the man....though he was honestly just a teenager, not a man quite yet, that she’d seen earlier. “You still have your rose, correct?”

Kamui nodded slightly, “Yeah, it’s in my pocket.”

“Good. Keep it safe. Fuuma-san went that way,” she said, pointing to the left. “Find him, and both of you, keep your roses safe, okay? If you find a vase with water, use that for them as well.”

Kamui took note of the advice for later, and stood up slowly. He was glad she had seen Fuuma earlier. “Thank you for your help...What is your name ma’am?” The young male hesitated for a second, “Also...Is Fuuma-san okay? He’s not hurt, right?”

“My name as a painting is The Lady in Red, but my real name when I was a person is Yuuko. As for Fuuma-san, I’m not sure Kamui. When I saw him, he was not. He appeared frightened, but that is part of what this place does. That’s all I know though, the sooner you find him, the less danger either of you are in.”

“Well thank you Yuuko-san for all your help. I gotta go help Fuuma-san now!” He turned to look at her one last time, smiling softly and waving goodbye, before sprinting off in the general direction she had pointed towards.

Yuuko gave a soft smile and wave in return, though Kamui had already turned his back. Out of the very few other people she had talked to while stuck as a living painting, Kamui was the only one to ask her her name. She hoped that he would find Fuuma and that both of them could hold out long enough for their help to arrive....But both seemed strong, of course they’d be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! We beta these chapters before uploading them. Also my co-author wrote most of this part, thank you Tsuki. <3


	4. The Lady in Blue

It wasn’t long before Kamui needed to take another rest; his chest felt so tight and constricted... But now that he knew Fuuma was in danger he definitely couldn’t rest until he found the other. However, as he walked, he could feel his energy starting to drain, and it was getting much harder to move on. He kept walking though, until a moan reached his ears and he saw a familiar, slumped form on the ground. “Fuuma!” He ran towards the figure, his own pain and exhaustion forgotten in light of seeing his new friend so hurt.

Fuuma pushed himself up as best as he could, aching everywhere and vision blurring. But he swore he heard Kamui....what was he doing here? Did that mean Kamui was trapped here as well? “K-Kamui? What are you doing here?”

“F-Fuuma, w-what happened? Where’s your rose? Yuuko-san said we have to keep our roses safe!” He clung onto the teenager, “H-how can I help…?”  
Fuuma tried to smile, but was pretty sure it came out more of a grimace. “Was trying to keep you safe, and something knocked me out earlier, guessing it took my rose too,” he paused to lightly grip his chest, “How are you here though and who’s Y-Yuuko san?”

“I’m okay, b-but you’re hurt…” He let his arms fall to his side, his eyes wide and tears forming in them, but he quickly wiped them away. He had to be brave; his mother always told him to be brave even in scary situations like this. “Y-Yuuko-san is a painting...She’s really nice...S-she told me where to find you…” He started to stand up now, “I-I’ll go find your rose. W-where d-did you lose it…?”

“Kamui, you barely look better than I do. And since you’re younger, you shouldn’t be pushing yourself this much. We can go look for it together, alright? I have a key to somewhere. I just need help getting up.” It was admirable that Kamui was being this brave, but he came here to protect Kamui, not so that Kamui would have to protect him. Great job he’d done there.

“N-no I’m fine.” He shook his head. “I-I want to find it m-myself...I-I can do it…” Kamui wasn’t sure if he was reassuring himself or the raven-haired male in front of him, but he really did want to be the one to help Fuuma...Especially since he was the cause of Fuuma’s injuries...If he hadn’t tried to protect him, he wouldn’t be like this… “I-it’s my fault you’re hurt...I-I should help you get your rose at l-least…” He was on the verge of tears; he hated seeing Fuuma like this, even though he just met him. Especially since Fuuma had only been trying to protect him…

Fuuma smiled a bit and somehow pulled himself into a sitting position. He gently took the younger boy’s arm and pulled until he could hug Kamui. “It’s fine. I chose to try to protect you. You still ended up here though, so I basically didn’t do my job right. But Kamui, I don’t want you pushing yourself. I’m older, I’ve been in fights, I’m on the track team. You’re still younger and what would happen if something happened to you and I had to be the one to tell your mom? I’m sure you’re the most precious thing in her world, and you promised to not be a bother for her, right? I don’t want to be worrying about you because you’re out of sight Kamui. I came here to protect you, so that’s what I’m going to do. Rose or no rose. As long as you have yours, and you stay safe, it’s okay Kamui.”

“B-but it’s not okay!” Kamui wrestled out of Fuuma’s embrace, “Y-you’re hurt! Y-you don’t even have your rose! Y-Yuuko-san said it’s important...That w-we can’t ever lose our roses…” Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t bother to wipe them away this time. “I-I don’t know what happens when we lose them...b-but I-I know it’s bad…” His voice hiccupped, “W-we have to find your rose...and p-put it in a vase...l-like Yuuko-san told me too…” His eyesight started to blur from the salty-liquid forming in his eyes, the small tears overflowing down his reddened cheeks. Why wouldn’t Fuuma listen to him? Didn’t he see that he was hurt, dying even? All because of him?

Fuuma sighed a bit raspily. “It’ll be fine then. We can do that, don’t worry, o-okay? Let’s go...try to find my rose and a vase.”

Kamui sniffled a bit, rubbing at his eyes with his forearm, and bobbed his head slightly in acceptance, “O-okay…” The child kneeled down, snaking his left arm under Fuuma’s armpit, “C-c’mon…Y-you have to get up…”

Fuuma smiled in relief that he got Kamui to at least partially listen. He slowly went onto one knee and with Kamui’s help, managed to stand up, though shaky and he could tell his breathing was a little heavier than it should be from just standing up. “So...which way should we go?”

“Um…” He looked around, not sure exactly where to go. Up until now, he’s always had guidance, either from the gallery or from another source such as Yuuko, but now he actually had to choose. He knew that Fuuma’s rose probably wasn’t back where he came from or, well...unless it was at that fork. There had been an area he hadn’t explored quite yet… “That way,” he pointed back towards where he came from, “There’s a room there I didn’t explore.”

Fuuma nodded. “Okay, sounds as best of a guess as any. Let’s go...” He hoped it wasn’t too far away, he was still fairly shaky and honestly, if it was a long way, he might collapse and make Kamui worry again...

He nodded slightly, that seems like all he could do. If he talked, he felt like he would cry, and he promised his mother he’d be brave, and he didn’t want Fuuma to worry over him. “C-can you walk…?”  
Fuuma grimaced a little. “Should be able to, don’t see a reason why not. I was able to stand, though with help.” He took a cautious step to test his theory and was a little surprised to see he’d been correct. He wasn’t exactly balanced or anything currently, but he could walk. “Yeah, I’ll be fine, Kamui.”

“O-okay,” he watched Fuuma warily as he took a tentative step, afraid his friend would collapse. “Let’s go…”  
The teen nodded a bit. “Okay....lead the way then...”

Kamui took Fuuma’s hand in his; he didn’t want to get separated; he couldn’t handle it. This place...it was already tiring him; if he lost his friend, and he was injured like this… He started to drag Fuuma along; it was almost like when they first met, except this time they weren’t exploring for fun. If they didn’t get back Fuuma’s rose, Kamui was certain that something bad would happen to him.

Kamui led him across the hall slowly; he didn’t want to go too fast, lest the other couldn’t keep up because of his injuries. It ended up taking them a few minutes, and in that time both of them were out of breath, though Fuuma more so than Kamui, before they reached to the door that led to the split Kamui had mentioned earlier. “Over there’s a vase…”

Fuuma could feel his chest hurting; being out of breath didn’t help. Did the roses really control them like this? “Great. Put your rose in Kamui, I’m going to just sit and rest for a second....”  
The young child led Fuuma to the wall and struggled to help him sit down, his arms trembling under the weight. Once he was safely on the ground, Kamui straightened up, studying the older male quietly as he sat, breathing heavy. He really didn’t look too good; he absolutely had to get that rose back. As for the vase...Well he couldn’t risk putting his rose in first, right? What if it took too long to heal? Or the water ran out? Is that how vases even worked in this place? “F-Fuuma…Can I have the key…?”

Fuuma made a slightly pained face. He seriously probably couldn’t go much if any further in his current condition, and it did seem like it’d be right there, but Kamui could still get in trouble....the teenager wouldn’t be able to do anything to help. “C-can you promise me you’ll stay safe Kamui? No matter what? If you get in trouble that if needed you will leave my rose?”

The young male hesitated; he didn’t want to make a promise and then break it, but he knew that if he did make that promise that he would break it and he wasn’t someone to do such things. But if he didn’t promise, then Fuuma wouldn’t give him the key, right? He tilted his head to the side slightly, if he just said ‘okay’ would that count as a promise? He wasn’t sure; but it was better than saying ‘I promise’ and then disregarding that promise completely, right? At least then he could say he didn’t promise to leave the rose… “Okay...I promise to stay safe…” This was the best thing he could do; promise to stay safe, but not to leave the rose…

Fuuma frowned. That sounded like Kamui wasn’t going to entirely listen....but he couldn’t get up, so the teenager would just have to take Kamui’s word that he’d stay safe if nothing else. He reached into his side pocket and grabbed the key, holding it out to Kamui. “Fine....just seriously stay safe Kamui.”

He took the key from the teenager’s hand, “I will try…” Now that he got the key, he didn’t need to worry about Fuuma withholding it from him. He turned around swiftly, a new sense of purpose in his steps. He had to save Fuuma now, even if it meant getting in a little bit of danger which, when he thought about it, he probably had been in from the start. This place wasn’t exactly ‘friendly’, after all. Especially considering it seemed to go from wanting to play with him to trying to kill him in a matter of seconds…Though he had a feeling the gallery didn’t want him dead just yet; it wanted to play with him more, he could tell. “Don’t worry Fuuma-san...I-I’ll be fine...The gallery will help me…” And with that he raced away towards the direction they thought the rose was at.

Fuuma could feel his frown increase as the younger boy ran off. While he was glad the one painting seemed to care for and help Kamui, he highly doubted the gallery as a whole would help....both of them looked horrible. And the lesser thing that was concerning him was Kamui adding the honorific back. He’d assumed that Kamui had maybe finally just listened to Fuuma saying he didn’t care for them, but it’d come back.....why? He sighed; maybe he would ask the boy when he got back.  
\---  
After he was sure he was out of Fuuma’s sight Kamui slowed his pace, stopping only when he reached the door at the end of the crimson-colored hall. He hoped Fuuma wouldn’t worry too much about him, especially considering he barely knew him. He didn’t want to worry someone he just met.  
The first thing he saw when he opened the door was red petals scattered across the ground. These must belong to Fuuma, he thought wide-eyed. That was an awful lot of dead petals, God he hoped he was able to save the other’s rose in time…

He started walking, following the trail of the scattered foliage. As he walked, he noticed that the amount of petals decreased as he went on; did that mean the flower was almost completely dead? He truly hoped not, just thinking about seeing his friend’s rose, absent of its beautiful petals, only a thorny stem on the carpeted ground, really scared him. Another thing he noticed as he walked was the sound of someone...humming. Who would be humming down here? It kept getting louder and louder as he silently followed the trail, and honestly it was starting to worry him. Whomever took Fuuma’s rose was alive, which means he’d have a harder time getting it and more of a chance of losing his own rose in the process.

After another minute or so of walking he found himself standing in front of another door. It was red, just like the room around him, and when he pulled on it, the door wouldn’t budge. It was definitely locked, so the key he had in his hand definitely was for this door. It had to be.

He inserted the key into the lock and turned it, a loud clicking sound indicating that the door unlocked. Putting the key back in his pocket, he hesitantly reached out and grasped the handle before opening it to reveal a large statue of what seemed like a sleeping man, and a small, cramped room with more petals scattered on the ground. Now that he was here, the humming had stopped, making him worry. Did they spot him? He looked towards his left, noticing a brown-haired woman in a blue dress leaning out of her painting, plucking at the stem of Fuuma’s rose. “H-hey, get away from that.” he called out towards the painting.

Upon hearing the sound the woman looked up at him and...smiled? He gasped and backed away, exiting through the doorway and slamming the door shut. How was he supposed to get the rose now?

A loud banging from his left caught his attention, but when he glanced over there was a loud crash as glass shattered and the painting jumped out. Panicked, he ran back into the room where Fuuma’s rose had been and closed the door behind him; would she be able to get in now? He hoped not… But just in case he hurried and scooped up Fuuma’s rose anyways. By now exhaustion had started to cloud his mind again and his breathing was ragged and shallow; he felt so weak. Was this because his own rose was hurt? He slid to the ground, trying to get his breathing under control. It was no good; he was too scared to calm down, and he still had his friend’s rose in his hand. What if he accidentally hurt it more? Or the painting came after him and attacked him before he got the rose into the vase? There were so many possibilities running through his mind, and none of them were particularly good.

Shakily he stood up and headed towards the door. He’d just have to make a run for it. The child stared at the door for a few seconds before grasping the handle tightly. It was now or never. Yanking the door open, he dashed out and run towards the general direction of where he had left Fuuma sitting earlier. He could tell the painting was chasing him; he could hear the patter of its hands on the ground and the scraping sound of its frame as it dragged itself along the ground after him.

When he reached the door he immediately grasped the handle, but struggled to open it in his panicked state. No, no, open! Finally, as he felt a hand touch his ankle, he opened the door and quickly slammed it shut, gasping for breath and collapsing against its surface. He clutched at his heaving chest, his eyes closed and breathing hard. He made it; he was alive and Fuuma’s rose was safe with him. At the thought a small smile graced his lips; Fuuma was going to be fine now. He was going to live.


	5. Harm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Injured so early on in his journey, Kamui's life and his quest are in danger. Will Fuuma be able to assist him and save his life?

At hearing the door slam, and what sounded like an animal clawing at the door after that, Fuuma jolted out of his dazed thinking and looked up at where Kamui was, now slowly walking towards him. The boy looked worse than he had before, but he was smiling and seemed to be holding a mostly dead red rose. “Kamui! Are you okay? You look worse than you were before!”

 

            Kamui glanced over at Fuuma, not answering, before strolling towards the vase. “I’m...okay…” His words were breathy, and his chest felt tight, but he didn’t want Fuuma to worry. He knew the other was worse off than he was, so Fuuma was his priority. He stopped by the vase and stared down at Fuuma’s rose, and then at the vase. He had to do it; he had to put it in first, even though his friend would probably get mad at him, he had to do it.

 

            Fuuma frowned and would have tried to get up, but doubted he’d be able to. “Kamui. Take care of your rose first...” He tried to do it in as much of a commanding voice as possible, but given the near faintness of his voice, it seemed unlikely that it would do much.

 

            He didn’t look over towards Fuuma when he spoke, but the sound of how weak Fuuma’s voice was only made him more determined to help him first. He owed it to the other to help him; after all he got this way because he had been trying to save him… “S-sorry Fuuma-san…” Gently he took the crimson rose and dropped it in the vase, watching as more petals started to grow back and the dead stems and leftover petals started to regain their life and color. As the rose healed, though, he watched as the amount of water in the vase started to lessen, until the vase was completely devoid of liquid.

 

            Fuuma could feel his strength come back; but could also tell the water was draining and he frowned again. He slowly stood up before going and taking his now fully-bloomed rose from the vase and placing it in his pocket, and then he carefully picked Kamui up. “You have got to be one of the least selfish kids I know. Now will you let me protect you Kamui?”

 

            “W-wha—” Kamui’s eyes widened and he could feel his face heat up as his body was lifted off the ground. He never really enjoyed being picked up, but he was much too weak to put up a fight, “F-Fuuma-san,” he whined in protest, “put me down; I-I can walk…”

 

            Fuuma shook his head. “Nope. You healed my rose instead of yours. You’re still younger and weaker than I am, especially now. When we get your rose healed, fine, but not until then. Just tell me which way to go.”

 

            Kamui pouted slightly, sighing, and buried his head in Fuuma’s green shirt, “B-but Fuuma-san…” He closed his eyes slightly; well he did need the rest, after all he really was quite exhausted. “F-fine...C-can I be carried o-on your back at least…?”

 

            Fuuma sighed. He guessed that was okay. “Okay. Just make sure you don’t fall off, got it?” He let Kamui down and knelt so that he could climb on his back.

 

            The male winced once his feet hit the ground, a dull pain slowly seeping up his legs. Was he so sore because he had been running earlier? And his chest still felt pretty tight… He slowly walked around his friend and climbed on his back, struggling a little bit. Kamui wrapped his arms around Fuuma’s neck. “O-okay, ready…”

 

            “You all set? You won’t fall off?” Once he was sure Kamui wouldn’t fall, Fuuma stood up. “Any idea which way to go?”

 

            “Back that way…?” He pointed in the direction he first found Fuuma, “I-I think I saw a door earlier…”

 

            Fuuma nodded. “Okay. By the way....I do have a question for you,” he said as he started walking back from where he’d come from, “You originally dropped the -san like I’d asked, but you recently brought it back, why?”

 

            Kamui stiffened and his skinny arms tightened around Fuuma’s neck, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about Fuuma-san…”

 

            Fuuma’s eyes narrowed and he let his voice get a little stern. “Kamui. I don’t mind, I just want an explanation. And I’m sure you can also explain in more detail how you came down here.”

 

            He sighed, “...I-I was scared Fuuma-san... Y-you were on the ground...a-and you weren’t moving…” Kamui’s eyes closed, “B-but I had to be brave…”

 

            Fuuma gave a small smile at that. “I would prefer it if you could drop it more than when you’re scared. But I _am_ proud of you for being brave and now I have a way to tell if you’re scared I guess. But I’m better now and I’ll protect you, so you don’t have to be scared, okay?”

 

            The raven-haired kid nodded slightly, “O-okay…” He bit his lip slightly, a thought coming to mind. “Y-you won’t...get hurt again, r-right? Y-you won’t hurt yourself...protecting me…?”

 

            “I’m going to try my best not to get hurt, but if it comes down to me or you being hurt, I’m going to stand in. I’m not going to let you get hurt; I already broke that promise to myself before, but not again. Now, will you tell me more of how you were lured here and how the gallery ‘talked’ to you?”

 

            Kamui hesitated; did he want to tell Fuuma how he got there? Did he even _want_ to talk about it? The memory of how quickly the gallery turned on him, and those creepy dolls that he saw hanging earlier, haunted his mind and made him shiver. And when the lights had gone out in the _real_ gallery, how everyone disappeared… Had it been his fault? Everything had been fine until he had started looking at that painting… “W-well...it was after I went to find Mother…” He trailed off, tightening his hold on Fuuma’s neck.

 

            Fuuma gave an encouraging nod. “Go on, I just want to know so we can maybe figure out how to get out better. It’s okay Kamui, I’ll protect you, remember?”

 

            “...I-I found a picture...it was really weird. It kinda looked like this place… Then the lights went out...e-everyone disappeared...I-I couldn’t find Mother or y-you…” He started to tremble, “I-I could hear someone following me... B-but when I turned around no one was there…” He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering the sound of those footsteps as they echoed in his ears. “I ended up back at the painting...b-but there were words on the wall and the ground... It said it would show me someplace secret…”

 

            Fuuma could tell Kamui was starting to get upset again and as swiftly but safely as he could, he maneuvered the younger so that he was once again being held bridal style so that Fuuma could hold him better. “Shhh, it’s okay Kamui, it’s already happened. You found me and we’ll find your mother and get out, okay? I’m sorry that I have to ask, but is that all? Or is there more?”

 

            He buried his head in Fuuma’s chest, letting himself be comforted by the elder’s soothing voice. “...Y-yeah...w-when I went to find Mother...I ended up back at the fish picture on the ground... I-it was scarier though...a-and then I woke up here…” His hold on the shirt tightened, “After that...I-I looked for a way out...th-there were more words on the wall...b-but they weren’t scary...I-I think the gallery wanted to play... It said ‘come’ over a-and over... The words took me t-to my rose... It was in a vase...and behind the vase...there was a door... I went into the room...and I-I found a key...I thought the gallery wanted me to take it...but w-when I got back out...th-the words changed... T-they were red...they said ‘thief’...I think I made the gallery mad... B-but it wanted me to take the key, right…?”

 

            Fuuma held the boy closer. “I’m not sure Kamui....I would assume it would. The best I can come up with is that it’s trying to play with your mind and make you upset. When people are upset, they tend to make more rash decisions and mess up. Where did the key go to?” It sounded like the gallery was just toying with them, and whenever they got close to actually doing it right, it’d get mad and retaliate....sort of like a child really.

 

            “W-well...there was a door at the o-other side... Th-the key unlocked it...and th-there was a room...w-where hands would come out of the wall... O-one of the hands grabbed me a-and it hurt…” He remembered how shadowy the hands were...how they just seemed to appear out of nowhere like a ghost or a spirit... The hands had been so cold… “A-after that I found another room...I-I think the gallery w-wanted to play a game... There were these numbers...and there was a...a room called the ‘Liars’ room’...it was full of paintings... One of them was telling the truth...I-I figured it out b-but…” He trailed off. There had been so much blood then. Or had it been paint? The paintings and that liquid...it had all seemed too real. They had seemed too _alive_. Just thinking about it made him terrified, guilty, and nauseous; had that been his fault too? Did an actual, friendly painting die because he had figured out the riddle?

 

Fuuma frowned. “But what Kamui?” The boy looked like he might cry. Why? He realized Kamui had been through hell as it was, but this looked almost like guilt or something...

 

            “Th-they killed h-her…” His voice came out as a hoarse whisper and his breathing was quick, shallow, but not from exhaustion. “Th-they k-killed h-her... B-because sh-she h-helped me…?”

 

            Fuuma went ahead and stopped, settling against a wall so he could hold Kamui better and try to get him to calm down. “Kamui. Look at me. I don’t want you to think any of this is your fault. You are not to blame yourself, okay? She chose to help you. But it’s not your fault. Either she was there to help anyone who could’ve stumbled in, or she chose to help you because she wanted you to live. She helped you move on, correct? We’re all entitled to our own choices. I chose to come here hoping to keep you out of it. Since then, I chose to protect you. You chose to use the vase on my rose instead of yours to help me. If they killed her, then probably all of them knew that you had gotten the right one, so she probably went with as much of a smile as she could. Am I making sense?”

 

            Kamui looked up into Fuuma’s eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks. He nodded slightly, though he had trouble controlling his breathing. “U-uh huh,” he murmured, his breathing starting to slow slightly.

 

            “I’m glad I’m making sense.” Fuuma said as he gently wiped away some of Kamui’s tears, “Do you want to rest here for a minute or keep going?”

 

            “C-can we...rest f-for a minute F-Fuuma…?” His voice was quiet, but not as breathy as before.

 

            Fuuma nodded. “Of course. Just tell me when you’re ready to go and we’ll continue trying to find our way out, okay?”

 

            “O-okay…” Kamui hesitated, “H-hey F-Fuuma? W-why do you think the gallery...w-wanted us to c-come here? W-why did i-it want t-to play with me…?”

 

            Fuuma sighed. “Honestly Kamui? I don’t know. I really don’t know what to tell you. I wish I did, but I don’t. All I can assume is that at least some part of the gallery is just playful, or is looking out for us and just hope we encounter that part more often.”

 

            He nodded, “D-do you think...th-this has happened before…? Y-Yuuko said...she used to be a person.”

 

            “Maybe it has; I don’t know if the gallery has a way to reset itself, in which case it’d be like a game. But I doubt it does, so either people can get through different ways or appear in different areas at least, or they just don’t get as far. We haven’t seen any other _people_ which is both a good and a bad thing. But if Yuuko-san said that, and you truly trust her, which by this point I think is safe, there have been others. In Yuuko-san’s case though, I’m not sure if that’s how she got here....she was definitely a painting from the actual gallery, but how she came to life here, I don’t know. I guess we’ll keep an eye out for anything dealing with it.”

 

            Kamui frowned but nodded. After a few moments the child murmured, “Can we m-move on now?”

 

            Fuuma nodded as well and moved so that Kamui could go on his back again since he’d calmed down.

 

            Kamui climbed on Fuuma’s back again, clinging onto his neck. And so they continued on with their journey until they came to a door, and, when opened, it led to a room with a lone statue in the middle. The statue was blue, and blocked the door behind it. “Will you be able to move that Fuuma-san?”

 

            Fuuma nodded. “Yeah, should be able to, let me just get you down for a sec just in case.” The teen let Kamui get off of his back before he walked to the statue and got on one side of it. He didn’t want to end up crashing into the floor along with it, so he gradually increased the amount of strength he used until he felt it budge. He then moved it over to the side of the door, out of their way before going back to Kamui. “No problem, see?”

 

            He nodded and once again climbed onto Fuuma’s back. “Let’s go,” he murmured. They continued on their way, entering the door to find themselves in a grey room. Two paintings hung on the wall; on the left was a woman in a white wedding dress, holding a bouquet of pink roses. On the right was a male, which Kamui presumed to be the groom, in a white suit. They both looked...sad. Two black hands stuck out from the ground, but instead of looking menacing like the ones that had stuck out from the wall earlier, they seemed to be reaching out for something? A narrow hallway separated the two pictures. Would they both be able to fit through that hallway with Fuuma carrying him? “Why do they look so sad…?”

 

            Fuuma thought for a minute, frowning a bit as it confused him as well before he thought of it. “The bride doesn’t have her ring on. The plaques say these are her hands. My mom lost her ring once and was really upset before my dad found it a week later, so I bet that’s it. Maybe we’ll find it....”

 

            He nodded, “I never knew my father...My mother never talks about him either... Actually, she did once but she sounded sad…”

 

            Fuuma frowned more. “I’m guessing either it was an arranged marriage somehow and they didn’t love each other then, or something happened to split them. I’m sorry your mom was sad though, she’s nice. Her and my mom would get along well I think.”

 

            “Maybe they’ll be friends someday?” Kamui smiled slightly at the image; he didn’t even know Fuuma’s mother but just the idea of their families becoming friends was nice in light of such a scary situation. No, it was more than nice, it was even slightly comforting, as if it held the promise that they’d be able to get out of this gallery alive, along with his mother.

 

            Fuuma smiled, that would be great. “Yeah, of course they will be!”

 

            “Great!” He pointed a small finger towards the hall, “Now let’s go find the ring.”

 

            Fuuma laughed as he started down the hall. “Am I your horse now, Kamui? But yeah, let’s go find the ring!” He was glad he was able to cheer Kamui up.

 

            When they got to the end of the hallway the space seemed to open up, revealing a complicated room with an assortment of walls, other mini hallways, and many, many doors. Kamui’s eyes widened; where did they go now? “Whoa...this room is huge.”

 

            “Uh....yeah. Um....where should we go first? There’s so many options...though I wonder if any of them are actually nice.... We better be cautious with whichever one we pick.”

 

            “Yeah...what about that door right there?” He pointed towards the door to the left...well really it was the only door in front of them at the moment.

 

            Fuuma nodded. “Seems as good as any of them.” He reached out and was a little surprised the door actually was unlocked.

 

            The door opened to reveal what seemed like a maze, and the sound of heavy footfalls echoed around the room. In front of them was a plaque. Kamui squinted, trying to get a better look, and read, “‘Labyrinth’? Is that like a maze?”

 

            Fuuma looked around the room, a little suspicious of the footsteps before nodding at Kamui’s question. “Yeah, and I guess something’s in this one... It’s just a question of what, but I guess we’ll find out.”

 

            “Yeah... Let’s be careful, okay Fuuma-san?” He knew Fuuma couldn’t run or defend himself that well while carrying him, so they had to be careful. He’d feel awful if his friend got hurt because he was injured and being carried.

 

            He nodded again. “Of course, the plan is not to be reckless unless necessary. I guess we just pick a direction and start walking?”

 

            “Yeah... What about over there?” He pointed towards an opening just a little bit to their left.

 

            “Sure, that works.” Fuuma turned to the left and walked until he hit the corner of it then turned forward. “I guess we just follow this.”

 

            It wasn’t long before they hit a wall in front of them and an opening on either side. The noise they heard earlier was getting louder, and seemed to be coming from their right… “W-what is that Fuuma?” Out of the corner of his eye, Kamui had spotted something, his hands instinctively clinging tightly onto the collar of Fuuma’s jacket.

 

            Fuuma turned his head slightly, hearing it too. And Kamui was scared again then. “Um...that. Looks like a mannequin. And I don’t think it’s friendly....but it doesn’t appear aggressive either. I guess we can just avoid it.....” Fuuma quickly turned the opposite way of the mannequin.

 

            Kamui turned to look back at the mannequin; it was black, with no head and wore a red dress. It didn’t seem to be following them, but he wasn’t sure. It kept going back and forth, as if it couldn’t tell where the opening was but was still trying to go after them. Just looking at it made him nervous, as if doing so would allow it to follow them. He really didn’t like this. “C-can we go faster Fuuma?”

 

            He nodded. “Yeah, of course,” Fuuma picked up the pace a bit, choosing random directions to turn until they came to a sign. “Huh?”

 

            “‘There’s a trick...to solving mazes... Hug the right hand side...and you’ll reach the end eventually...’ B-but aren’t we at the end of it already…?” Kamui frowned. Why would it give them this advice now? Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from behind them; it was heavy, like the footsteps they had been hearing throughout the maze, except this time it was so much closer... He looked over his shoulder and let out a small yelp, “F-Fuuma!”

 

            Fuuma turned quickly but he heard Kamui yelp again as he did so, and he easily saw why, there was another mannequin and he could tell this one had done more than walk towards them. He quickly got Kamui into his arms as he continued running through the maze. “Are you okay Kamui? Did it get you or your rose?”

 

            Kamui’s breaths were coming in gasps, and the pain that had only been a dull ache before was much worse now, like fire burning throughout his whole body. “I-I’m...f-fine…” He clung to Fuuma’s shirt, “I-it w-was...just a s-scratch…”

 

            Fuuma frowned. He most definitely did not sound fine. They needed to find whatever was in here and NOW. “Kamui, hold on okay?” He couldn’t be rash, that’d make things worse. He tried to keep his mind as calm as he could and turned where he thought it would work, deciding to try to hug the right side like the note had said and soon came across another one. “’Check directly south from the red paint’?” Now that he thought about it, he had seen some red....paint. But he’d seen it back on the left side.

 

            “W-where...do w-we go...now?” His chest felt so tight now, and all he wanted to do was leave, but he knew they couldn’t. There had to be something in this maze…

 

            Fuuma took a deep breath. “I think we have to go back to the other side....I’m sorry.” He’d let Kamui get hurt again and now they had to go back to that side. _If_ he was even correct. “There was red paint on the ground, let me know if you see it.”

 

            He nodded, “Th-there w-was some...near the b-beginning…” Kamui shifted so he was snuggled more closely against Fuuma’s body; he was so warm, and he felt so safe in his arms.

 

            Fuuma adjusted his hold on Kamui as he felt the boy snuggle closer. “Okay.” He started to retrace their steps, paying close attention to the ones that weren’t theirs. He really didn’t like this, it was putting him on edge; he was scared another mannequin would pop up in front of them this time and hurt Kamui. They needed to find whatever it was, and a vase.

 

            Kamui could feel Fuuma start to walk again, but he didn’t look, his head buried against the elder’s chest. It wasn’t like it mattered anyway, his vision was too blurry for him to really make out anything useful at the moment. He just hoped Fuuma wouldn’t get hurt trying to find that paint. “H-have you f-found it yet…?” His voice was muffled against the cloth of Fuuma’s shirt and he struggled to get out the words, but he still did not look up from his comfortable position in the male’s arms.

 

            “I think so yeah, there’s a switch or something here. We passed the paint a second ago.” He reached out to where the switch on the wall, directly south, from the paint was and pressed it before he heard a sound that seemed rather loud, but regardless sounded like an unlocking. “I think we got it, now we just need to get you out of here and find a vase.”

 

            “O-okay…” The one thing Kamui hated about being hurt more than anything was being unable to see anything well; all he could hear was the footsteps of the mannequins as they chased after them, leaving it to his imagination on whether or not they caught up with them. He wasn’t sure if that was more horrifying than actually being able to see in the first place; after all this fake gallery _did_ seem to be something straight out of a horror game. However, the sound of a groan of a door as it opened and then the harsh slam of it as it closed prompted him to look up from his relatively comfortable position in Fuuma’s arms. “A-are we...out?”

 

            Fuuma leaned back against the door slightly. “Yup. Only thing is, I don’t know where to look for a vase.... This is bad. We obviously have to keep going.”

 

            “I-I’ll b-be okay...u-until then F-Fuuma-san…” He didn’t want Fuuma to worry, but by how sporadic his breathing was he probably was just worrying him more by saying that, which was something he didn’t want to do.

 

            He frowned. “Kamui.... Okay, what way do you want to go now? What even unlocked?”

 

            “U-um…” He blinked, what did unlock? “I-I don’t know...Let’s go th-that way?” He untangled a small arm from his body, small cuts littering the skin of his arm, which shook as he pointed towards the left side of the room.

 

            Fuuma looked to where Kamui was pointing, seeing the cuts as well. “Kamui....where did those cuts come from? Was that because the rose was hurt??” He didn’t really want to move on right now, he wanted to take care of Kamui’s cuts, but, the sooner they found a vase, the sooner they would just heal, right?

 

            “I d-don’t know... Th-they w-were on you too...w-when you were h-hurt…” He let his arm fall back into the position it was previously, wincing slightly from the pain. “C-can we start moving now…?”

 

            Fuuma nodded. “O-of course, sorry Kamui.” He went to the left, but chose to also go up the hall. He didn’t really know why, maybe to get it out of the way.

 

            He shook his head, “I-it’s fine…” Kamui trailed off, guilt starting to cloud his mind. _I got hurt and now I’m making Fuuma-san worried…_ No, no he couldn’t think like that. If he did Fuuma would get mad at him, right? He didn’t want him to get mad, but the idea that Fuuma was so worried over him… “I-I’m sorry...I-I got hurt F-Fuuma-san…” His eyes widened; he didn’t mean to say that. It just slipped out; was his mind that hazy that he couldn’t even control his own words?

 

            Fuuma had reached the door before Kamui apologized, so he stopped again and looked down in surprise at the younger. “Kamui....do you really think this is your fault? It’s not....it’s mine. I should have been paying more attention. I’m supposed to be protecting you, remember?” Fuuma gave a sad smile. “I absolutely suck at it apparently though. I got you hurt again, and have you blaming yourself.... Geez.”

 

            He shook his head slightly, “B-but you shouldn’t have to protect me... W-we just m-met today…” Kamui started to tremble slightly, either from the pain or from getting upset over Fuuma feeling so guilty he wasn’t sure, perhaps it was from both. “P-please don’t worry...F-Fuuma-san… A-and d-don’t blame y-yourself e-either...”

 

            Fuuma frowned. He didn’t want to get upset or mad at Kamui, but the boy was making it difficult. He thought this stuff usually made _more_ sense to little kids. “Kamui. I don’t care. I want to and _will_ protect you. I don’t know why I want to, but I do. I don’t care that we just met, okay? You’re already important to me, and that’s all that matters.”

 

            Kamui wasn’t sure what to say to that; he was already important to someone he just met? Well...it wasn’t like the feeling wasn’t mutual; for actually, when he thought about it, he felt the same way. This person was protecting and helping him, but the only thing he wanted to do was to see him safe and happy… Why he felt like this he wasn’t exactly sure, but just hearing how Fuuma was trying to keep his own voice level made him realize just how important Fuuma was to him, and vice versa. “...Th-thank you F-Fuuma-san... F-for helping me...I-I’m sorry I worry you…” He trailed off before adding, “Y-you’re important...to me too F-Fuuma-san…”

 

            He sighed and tightened his hold on the boy a little. “You’re welcome, and I worry because I care and I don’t want you blaming yourself over stuff that I should be avoiding for you.” He smiled a little when he barely heard Kamui’s other comment, but chose to not accidentally embarrass the boy by mentioning it. They’d probably loitered outside the room long enough, so Fuuma went ahead and entered the room which looked fairly tame in comparison to the labyrinth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the scare, but we found out a way to switch this series onto a different account, so we'll be continuing on and I hope you enjoy!!


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